She was taken into Weymouth and her crew brought before a magistrate.  And in that port the tub-boat was also found, for the smugglers had doubtless sent most of their cargo ashore in her whilst the Diane was cruising about between there and St. Alban’s Head.  It was significant that only three men were found on board, whereas smuggling vessels of this size (about twenty to thirty tons) usually carried eight or nine, the explanation being that the others had been sent out with the tub-boat.  But the rest of the cargo had evidently been hurriedly thrown overboard when the Tartar appeared, and because these casks were thrown over so quickly, fifty-nine of them had come to the surface and were subsequently recovered.  But besides these, 154 casks were also found on one sling at the bottom of the sea close to where the Diane had been arrested, for at the time when this occurrence had taken place the Tartar’s men had been careful at once to take cross bearings and so fix their position.

One of the most interesting of these smuggling events was that which occurred in the Medway.  About eight o’clock on the evening of March 27, 1839, a smack called the Mary came running into the river from outside.  At this time it was blowing very hard from the N.E., and the tide was ebbing, so that of course wind would be against tide and a certain amount of sea on.  But it was noticed by the coastguard at Garrison Point, which commands the entrance to this river, that the Mary had got far too much sail up—­whole mainsail as well as gaff-topsail.  Considering it was a fair wind and there was a good deal of it, there was far more canvas than was necessary, even allowing for the tide.

It was a rule that all vessels entering the Medway should bring-to off Garrison Point, and allow themselves to be boarded and searched, if required by certain signals.  In order to compel the Mary so to do, the coastguard at this point fired a shot and rowed off to meet her.  But the smack held on.  She was steering straight for the Isle of Grain, and showed no intention of starboarding her helm so as to get on a proper course up the Medway.  Another shot was fired, and yet she held on.  Now there were some of her Majesty’s ships lying near the Grain, which is on the starboard hand as you pass up the river, viz. the Daedalus and the Alfred.  These vessels were of course swung with the tide, and between the Daedalus and the Isle of Grain the smack manoeuvred.

[Illustration:  “Another shot was fired.”]

A third shot now came whizzing by from the boat that was rowing hard against the tide, and the smack came round between the Alfred and Daedalus.  The coastguard then boarded the Mary, and the master said he was from Brightlingsea.  He pretended that he thought the firing was not from the coastguard, but from a ship at the Little Nore, which is the channel that runs up to Garrison Point from the Nore Lightship.  This was curious, for the Mary had been in the habit of going up the Medway, and hitherto had always hove-to off Garrison Point for the coastguard to come aboard.  Her skipper excused his action by stating that he was frightened of heaving-to as he might have carried away his mast and gone ashore, if he had hauled up and gybed.